Oct. 28, 2006
Stats
Erie, Pa. -
When you are one of the top-ranked teams in the country, it seems like a majority of the bounces go your way. That proved to be the case on Saturday afternoon at the Mercyhurst Ice Center.
Junior defenseman Danielle Ayearst's first goal of the season, with 3:53 left in the second period, proved to be the game-winner as the fourth-ranked Mercyhurst women's hockey team held off visiting Providence 4-3 to improve to 6-0-1 on the season. The Friars fell to 3-3 on the year.
Ayearst, deep in the left-wing corner, attempted a centering pass right in front of the Providence goal. The puck bounced off of a Providence defenseman's leg and behind Friar goaltender Danielle Ciarletta giving Mercyhurst a 4-2 lead at the time, a lead the Lakers would not relinquish. That two-goal lead was the biggest margin throughout the entire game, a game which saw three lead changes and two ties.
The Lakers got on the board at the 4:30 mark of the opening period, when senior forward Jill Nugent poked home a rebound, giving the Lakers a 1-0 lead. Freshman Meghan Agosta took the initial shot that was stopped by Ciarletta, but Nugent was able to bury the rebound for her first goal of the year. Agosta was credited with the lone assist.
With the Lakers shorthanded, senior Sonny Watrous pulled the Friars even at 1-1 three-and-a-half minutes later with her first goal of the season, beating Mercyhurst junior netminder Laura Hosier. Kristin Gigliotti and Kathleen Smith picked up the assists on the Providence goal. Smith, in fact, would assist on all three Providence goals on the afternoon.
Just 42 seconds into the second period, Providence took its only lead of the contest as sophomore Mari Pehkonen tallied her fourth goal of the season for a 2-1 Friar lead. Watrous and Smith had the assists.
The lead, however, would be short-lived, as Mercyhurst would score the next three goals of the game in a 13:34 span of the second period. Less than two minutes after Providence took the lead, senior forward Stefanie Bourbeau tallied her team-leading seventh goal of the season to knot the game at 2-2. Agosta and sophomore Valerie Chouinard had the assists on the lone Mercyhurst power play goal of the game.
It would remain 2-2 until freshman Alexandra Hoffmeyer knocked home her second goal of the season at the 12:10 mark, to give the Lakers a 3-2 advantage. Senior Julia Colizza and freshman Katariina Soikkanen had the assists on the goal that put Mercyhurst ahead for good.
Following Ayearst's goal that put Mercyhurst ahead by two goals, Providence got one back with just 14 seconds left in the second period. Gigliotti scored her fifth goal of the year, a blast from the left point that Hosier never saw until it found the back of the net. Smith and Sarah Feldman had the assists.
Mercyhurst was able to hold off the Providence bid for an upset, as neither team could score in the third period. The Friars were able to pull Ciarletta for an extra attacker with 34 seconds, but some hard work in the neutral zone nullified any scoring opportunites for Providence in the waining moments.
Mercyhurst outshot Providence 49-19 for the game, holding 19-7, 17-7, and 13-5 advantages respectively. Hosier stopped 16 of 19 to improve to 6-0-0 on the season and 32-8-5 for her career. Ciarletta was superb in defeat for Providence, stopping 45 of 49 Mercyhurst shots. Her record dropped to 1-1 on the season.
Mercyhurst was 1 for 10 on the power play, while Providence converted 2 of 7 opportunities.
The same two teams tangle again on Sunday afternoon at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. Faceoff is scheduled for 1:00 pm.
